The Bedford Conservation Commission on June 24 recommended the Zoning Board of Adjustment approve variances to allow a small building addition and a new dumpster enclosure within the 50‑foot wetland setback at the mobile gas station at 137 Route 101.

Joe Piccirilli and Jeff Merritt of Granite Engineering presented plans for a renovation and roughly 300‑square‑foot addition to the existing building and a concrete dumpster pad. The applicants, Pete and Becky Raspowitz, operate the station under lease, Piccirilli said. The lot is roughly 0.6 acres and has housed a gas station since about the 1940s, the engineers told the commission. Piccirilli said the proposed work would impact about 2,100 square feet of the wetland buffer but would not directly fill wetlands; he said the plan would remove some pavement and result in an approximate net reduction of 725 square feet of impervious area.

Commissioners asked whether the project would increase direct wetland impacts and how the applicants would prevent construction runoff from entering the wetland. Merritt said the work would be restricted to the buffer and that erosion‑control measures would include a perimeter silt fence, and “dandy bags” (insert filters) in existing catch basins to trap sediment. Merritt noted that catch basin inserts are placed within existing basin rims and do not require cutting into Route 101 pavement.

Pete Radzowitz, who identified himself as the lessee, said the cooler pad would not require a full foundation and that the owners hoped to invest in the site—he estimated the total investment could be “6 or $650,000 plus or minus.” The applicants also told the commission they had discussed the design with the Historic District Commission as a concept review and planned brick columns and period lighting to respond to historic concerns.

After discussion, a commissioner moved that the Conservation Commission recommend the ZBA approve the variance request (Article 4, Section 275‑28(a)) to demolish a storage enclosure and construct the addition and dumpster enclosure within 18 feet of a wetland and remove pavement within the 50‑foot setback at the existing mobile station at 137 Route 101 (Lot 20‑8). The motion was seconded and carried; an attempted amendment requesting additional debris‑prevention measures was withdrawn after staff and applicants confirmed silt fencing and catch‑basin controls would be installed.

Why it matters: the project alters development close to a wetland buffer. The commission’s review focused on whether the work would increase direct wetland impacts and whether erosion controls would sufficiently protect the wetland during construction.

Next steps: the commission’s favorable recommendation will be forwarded to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, which must decide on the requested variances.